After Yule, Sirius and Regulus sat in Black Manor, bored out of their minds. Arcturus was doing some paperwork and answering letters to members of the Black family. Melania was knitting, which was one of her favorite hobbies. Sirius and Regulus had already done all of their holiday homework, knowing full well that having a professor and a headmaster as grandparents, they would be expected to do their homework right away.
"What should we do?" Regulus asked with a sigh.
"I don't know," Sirius said thoughtfully. They sat silently for a few minutes before Regulus finally broke the silence.
"You've been more mature for the past year and a half," Regulus commented. "Ever since the day we moved here."
Sirius burst out laughing. "Me? Mature?"
"Well, when we lived with Mother and Father, you were… er… you know? Like, you were always arguing with Mother and Father, and would purposefully get them angry," Regulus pointed out. "You would also cause quite a mess, playing pranks on them, and Kreacher."
"My favorite ones were on Kreacher," Sirius admitted. "Kreacher was always annoying. At least Zippy is much more friendly."
Regulus shook his head with amusement. "Oh, Sirius," he said with a sigh. "I guess some things never change."
Sirius burst out laughing again. "Oh, Reg! You know I can't change too much, or I wouldn't be Sirius Black!"
Regulus rolled his eyes. "But all in seriousness, I've always wondered… What changed? I mean, one day, you were pranking Mother, Father, and Kreacher left and right, and the next, you were telling Grandmother about our parents' treatment of us. Then the next day, we went to Diagon Alley, and you acted… different. It was as though you knew what was coming. Maybe it's just me looking into this too much, but it's kind of strange, just how much you changed in just twenty-four hours."
Sirius was silent for a moment. He knew that the day would come when Regulus finally asked him about this, but he never thought it would be this soon. His little brother was smarter and more observant than he thought. He needed to decide what to say next. He knew that one day, Regulus would find out the truth, but was it time for that now? It was hard to decide. On one hand, Sirius wanted Regulus to be a child without having to worry about anything else. On the other hand, if he lied about it now, and when Regulus did finally figure it out, he didn't want their relationship to be strained because Sirius had lied to him about something as important as this. There were pros and cons to saying something and not saying something. Finally, he made a decision.
"You have every right to be confused and curious," Sirius finally said. "There's actually something that I need to tell you, something that has been kept between me, Grandfather, Grandmother, and Aunt Lucretia. I didn't want to tell you until you were a little older, because well, you're still a child."
"You are too, Sirius," Regulus reminded him.
"Physically, yes, but mentally, no," Sirius corrected him. With a sigh, he continued. "I think it would be best to tell you the same way everyone else found out. Come on, let's go see if we can use Grandfather's Pensieve." Regulus was confused as he followed his older brother to Arcturus' office. Arcturus was seated behind his desk, writing a letter, when Sirius and Regulus walked in.
"Sirius, Regulus, is everything alright?" Arcturus asked, seeing the serious and confused looks.
"Grandfather, can I borrow your Pensieve, please?" Sirius asked. Arcturus widened his eyes.
"Are you telling Regulus?" he asked.
"Yes," Sirius confirmed.
Arcturus nodded. He retrieved the Pensieve, setting it on his desk before leaving the room to go get Melania.
"Come on, Reg," Sirius encouraged. "I'll come with you into the memories." Since Regulus was younger, he knew that his brother would have many questions, so Sirius decided to go in the Pensieve with him.
As each memory passed, Regulus clutched Sirius' hand tightly. Not only did he get to see the memories of the past, but also the conversation Sirius had with their grandfather after he had viewed the memories, then about when Melania and Lucretia found out. Finally, the last one was of the conversation Sirius had had with the older Regulus and Arcturus almost a year ago.
When they finally exited the Pensieve, Arcturus and Melania were waiting for them. Regulus looked at his brother, and said, "That conversation we had before you went to the past…. Did… did we not get along in the future? Did you… run away?"
Sirius sighed. "Yes, Reg. In the future, I ran away from Mother and Father. I wanted to save you too, but at that time, we were older, and you were already the perfect child Mother and Father wanted. I knew you wouldn't come with me. I ran away to the Potters."
"And I was… a Death Eater?" Regulus asked, horrified.
"Yes, but that was the old Regulus. You were a Slytherin at that time. You're a Gryffindor in this timeline. Also, we're not with our parents anymore. I don't see you going into the dark arts this time around, you know?"
Regulus nodded. Then he grinned. "And anyway, I'm part of the Marauders this time around. I would never betray my friends."
Sirius flung his arms around Regulus, pulling him into a tight hug. Regulus returned the hug.
"You're taking this much better than I thought you would," Sirius commented. "I guess I'm not the only one who's mature."
Regulus laughed weakly. "It's a shock, yes, but I knew something was up," he said. "So I was prepared for whatever you had to say."
Melania then hugged Regulus. Arcturus then spoke. "Sirius has informed me of the Regulus he knew in the future. I can already tell you that the Regulus I see now is much different from the one I heard about. We are proud of you."
"You will always be the Reg I know and love," Sirius stated.
"Aww, you're the best brother ever," Regulus said with a smile.
Sirius was relieved. Regulus finally knew the truth. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He spent the rest of the holiday break filling Regulus in with what he had already told his grandparents. Regulus knew that whether or not he played a big role in changing the future, he was ready to support his brother in any way he could, big or small.